Group Advocates Teaching Students Religion From a Believer’s Perspective

When an educator is teaching students about a religion other than his or her own, he or she should act as though a believer of that religion is present and teach the religion from the perspective of that believer. That’s some of the advice that was given at a two-day workshop on the teaching of other religions sponsored in March by the United States Institute of Peace and summarized in a recent report by the institute. The United States Institute for Peace is a nonpartisan federal institution created by the U.S. Congress to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflicts.

The report reviews some promising projects in which high school students are taught about religion both inside and outside of school. The Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, for instance, engages people aged 13 to 30 from different religions to carry out service projects together.